When did you last get excited about finding a weevil? They get a lot of bad press as pests of crops and stored food, but finding two rare weevil species was one of the highlights of a recent Te Papa expedition to Dusky Sound in Fiordland.Read more
A Te Papa research team travelled to Dusky Sound: photographer Jean-Claude recalls a surprise encounter with bad-breathed whales. 15 November 2016. We had made good progress since leaving Doubtful Sound on the Southern Winds, the DOC boat that supports conservation programmes around southern New Zealand. We were now sailing pastRead more
Have you ever wondered which New Zealand bird was the first to be given a published scientific name? The unlikely answer is the broad-billed prion, named as ‘Procellaria vittata’ by a 22-year-old Georg Forster in 1777.Read more
A team of Te Papa scientists recently visited Dusky Sound as the first stage in an investigation of changes in biodiversity since Cook’s visit in 1773. Read more
In a collaboration between National Services Te Paerangi and Whanganui Regional Museum, Te Papa’s bicultural researcher Hokimate Harwood brought her extensive feather identification skills to a community of 30 weavers and bird enthusiasts earlier this year. Hokimate’s feather identification research looks to decode materials and messages within kākahu | featherRead more
Dr Hamish Campbell, Te Papa’s geologist in residence from GNS Science, shares his experience witnessing the green lights in the sky following the 2016 Kaikoura earthquake. Green sheet lightning I was driving home to Wellington from Auckland late on Sunday night after having had dinner in Taupo with Dinah and ourRead more
Fieldwork can be as easy as reaching out of the car window to sample a tree. Or it can be a bit more challenging.Read more
Cuckoos are well-known for eating spiky and poisonous foods, but did you know they can eat toxic monarch caterpillars?Read more
It can take a while for the public to warm up to experimental innovations, but often they can become unanimous or even necessary. Virtual reality, or VR, is one of these innovations, and it has the potential to take over every industry we can think of; The culture sector, and Te Papa included.Read more
Taumaka is a 20-hectare Māori-owned island lying about 4 km off the South Westland coast. Colin Miskelly describes the wildlife he encountered there on his latest visit. Read more
Finding and naming new species is a core part of the job for Te Papa’s scientists. More than 2500 animal and plant species have been named by museum staff since 1865. A recent example is the fern Asplenium lepidotum, described by myself and Pat Brownsey. This brings the number ofRead more
Why are botanic gardens important? And what does this have to do with Te Papa?Read more
Retired Wellington botanist Dr John Dawson was presented the Allan Mere today. This award, administered by the New Zealand Botanical Society, recognises botanists who have made an outstanding contribution to New Zealand botany.Read more
New technology is making it easier than ever to offer everyone a glimpse behind the scenes at Te Papa. We’ve shared tens of thousands of images collection objects in high resolution, and we’ve opened our venue spaces to Google Maps so that you can peek inside the museum. Recently, we’ve beenRead more
My name is Heidi Meudt and I’m a Research Scientist in Botany at Te Papa, currently doing taxonomic research on New Zealand’s native forget-me-nots. As part of my job, I occasionally attend scientific conferences in New Zealand and overseas. I’ve blogged before about some of the reasons that international conferences are importantRead more
